{"id":3255,"date":"2024-02-02T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-02T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/news\/can-the-nexus-approach-become-a-protective-shield-for-the-precious-ghar-el-melh-lagoon-in-tunisia\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T15:35:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T14:35:51","slug":"can-the-nexus-approach-become-a-protective-shield-for-the-precious-ghar-el-melh-lagoon-in-tunisia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/news\/can-the-nexus-approach-become-a-protective-shield-for-the-precious-ghar-el-melh-lagoon-in-tunisia\/","title":{"rendered":"Can the Nexus approach become a protective shield for the precious Ghar El Melh lagoon in Tunisia?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span><em><span>Version fran\u00e7aise ci-dessous:<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In the coastal governorate of Bizerte, in the North of Tunisia, natural resources have been under stress. The region is home to one of the country\u2019s most precious wetlands, the Ghar El Melh lagoon, designated as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. Excessive use of water for irrigation purposes and expansion of agricultural lands, have led however to loss of natural habitats, threatening the ecosystem, its associated biodiversity and ecosystem services, essential for the livelihood of the local community.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/04\/ghar-el-melh_dec2023-1.jpg\" height=\"810\" width=\"1080\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"Default\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>The Ghar El Melh lagoon&nbsp;was designated as a Wetland of International Importance (Ramsar Site) under the Ramsar Convention on 7 November 2007.&nbsp; Main economic activities practiced in the area include tourism, fishing and agriculture.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"Default\">Responding to this challenge, the project Adapting to Climate Change Impacts through Smart Irrigation in Ghar El Melh wetland area (ACCISI-GEM), implemented by the Global Water Partnership-Mediterranean with financial support from the&nbsp;<span class=\"ui-provider a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z ab ac ae af ag ah ai aj ak\" dir=\"ltr\">Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade<\/span> of Malta and co-financing from the GEF UNEP\/MAP <a title=\"The MedProgramme\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gwp.org\/en\/GWP-Mediterranean\/WE-ACT\/Programmes-per-theme\/Water-Food-Energy-Nexus\/the-medprogramme\/\" target=\"_blank\">MedProgramme<\/a>, will apply the WEFE Nexus approach through targeted activities in the area. The aim is to enhance water, energy, and food security, preserve the region\u2019s valuable ecosystems and their functions, advance the community\u2019s resilience to climate change and, contribute to the government\u2019s efforts towards sustainable development.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Default\"><b>Ghar El Melh: an important Ramsar site in need of protection<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"Default\">In 2007, the lagoon of Ghar El Melh was designated as a Wetland of International Importance and eleven years later the city of Ghar El Melh joined the list of Ramsar designated sites. The city is a touristic hotspot and major economic activities include lagoon\/coastal fishing and agriculture. However, the Ghar El Melh coast is facing a range of developmental pressures particularly due to climate vulnerability and change impacts and the ecological health of the lagoon and related fishing activities are threatened due changes in the lagoon\u2019s hydrodynamics, water balance and water quality deterioration. The already impaired condition of the region was exacerbated in 2023 when the country experienced one of the worst droughts in its history, thus forcing authorities to implement strict measures including long-hours cut of domestic water supply with significant impact on its agricultural production.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Default\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/04\/drought_tunisia_cropped-1.jpg\" height=\"1114\" width=\"1080\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"Default\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>For the past three years Tunisia has been facing severe drought, threatening its agricultural harvest.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"Default\"><b>Applying innovative technologies to support the local community and protect the vulnerable ecosystem.<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"Default\">The project is based on a holistic, multi-dimensional, innovative, community-based, gender-sensitive, and partnership-focused approach to coastal conservation agriculture using a WEFE Nexus lens. It builds upon the findings of the <a title=\"GEMWET project\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gwp.org\/en\/GWP-Mediterranean\/WE-ACT\/News-List-Page\/2021\/gemwet-an-ambitious-project-with-tangible-benefits\/\" target=\"_blank\">GEMWET<\/a> project, implemented by GWP-Med and a number of partners in the Ghar El Melh region, with remarkable results for the farming community and the agricultural production. Under the current project, &nbsp;5 farms will be selected to benefit from an ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) system that will allow farmers to receive precise, data driven decisions about when and how much water to apply to their crops. Renewable energy will be used for water pumping in order to optimize the use of energy, produce food sustainably making a positive impact in the interface of all 4 Nexus sectors while building resilient communities and ecosystems. At the same time, specially designed equipment will monitor the hydrology of the wetland in order to assess the impact of the irrigation practices on the coastal wetlands.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Default\">The adoption of smart-irrigation measures by the local community, will significantly benefit local society\u2019s well-being and the economy and protect the area\u2019s ecological and cultural treasures. At the national level, the project aspires to initiate a policy dialogue that will develop an action plan for upscaling such interventions, while also identifying catalytic and financing options for farmers to use these technologies with the aim to create a self-sustaining mechanism that can facilitate the uptake of the approach throughout the country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Default\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/04\/i75a5496_resize-1.jpg\" height=\"720\" width=\"1080\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"Default\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span>&nbsp;<\/span><em>5 farms will be selected to benefit from an ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) system that will allow farmers to receive precise, data driven decisions about when and how much water to apply to their crops.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"Default\">By upscaling and replicating the project\u2019s efforts in other parts of Tunisia and beyond, the project will contribute to the country\u2019s efforts towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals. The implementation of the WEFE Nexus approach through the use of technology signifies a bold step towards climate resilience and sustainable development ensuring human well-being, ecological integrity, gender equality and social justice.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Default\"><\/p>\n<p>GWP-Med, le minist\u00e8re des Affaires \u00e9trang\u00e8res et europ\u00e9ennes et du Commerce de Malte et le programme Med du FEM PNUE\/PAM ont uni leurs forces pour prot\u00e9ger la lagune de Ghar El Melh, l&#8217;une des zones humides les plus pr\u00e9cieuses de Tunisie, am\u00e9liorer la r\u00e9silience climatique, faire progresser le d\u00e9veloppement durable et assurer le bien-\u00eatre humain.<\/p>\n<p>Dans le gouvernorat c\u00f4tier de Bizerte, au nord de la Tunisie, les ressources naturelles sont soumises \u00e0 des pressions.La r\u00e9gion abrite l&#8217;une des zones humides les plus pr\u00e9cieuses du pays, la lagune de Ghar El Melh, d\u00e9sign\u00e9e comme zone humide d&#8217;importance internationale par la Convention de Ramsar. L&#8217;utilisation excessive de l&#8217;eau pour l&#8217;irrigation et l&#8217;expansion des terres agricoles ont toutefois entra\u00een\u00e9 la perte d&#8217;habitats naturels, mena\u00e7ant l&#8217;\u00e9cosyst\u00e8me, sa biodiversit\u00e9 associ\u00e9e et ses services \u00e9cosyst\u00e9miques, essentiels \u00e0 la subsistance de la communaut\u00e9 locale.<\/p>\n<p>En r\u00e9ponse \u00e0 ce d\u00e9fi, le projet Adapting to Climate Change Impacts through Smart Irrigation in Ghar El Melh wetland area (ACCISI-GEM), mis en \u0153uvre par le Partenariat Global pour l&#8217;Eau &#8211; M\u00e9diterran\u00e9e avec le soutien financier du minist\u00e8re des Affaires \u00e9trang\u00e8res et europ\u00e9ennes et du Commerce de Malte et le cofinancement du GEF UNEP\/MAP MedProgramme, appliquera l&#8217;approche WEFE Nexus \u00e0 travers des activit\u00e9s cibl\u00e9es dans la r\u00e9gion. L&#8217;objectif est de renforcer la s\u00e9curit\u00e9 de l&#8217;eau, de l&#8217;\u00e9nergie et de l&#8217;alimentation, de pr\u00e9server les pr\u00e9cieux \u00e9cosyst\u00e8mes de la r\u00e9gion et leurs fonctions, d&#8217;am\u00e9liorer la r\u00e9silience de la communaut\u00e9 au changement climatique et de contribuer aux efforts du gouvernement en faveur d&#8217;un d\u00e9veloppement durable.<\/p>\n<p><b>Ghar El Melh : un site Ramsar important n\u00e9cessitant une protection<\/b><\/p>\n<p>En 2007, la lagune de Ghar El Melh a \u00e9t\u00e9 d\u00e9sign\u00e9e comme zone humide d&#8217;importance internationale et, onze ans plus tard, la ville de Ghar El Melh a rejoint la liste des sites Ramsar. La ville est un lieu touristique attractif, et les principales activit\u00e9s \u00e9conomiques incluent la p\u00eache lagunaire\/c\u00f4ti\u00e8re ainsi que l&#8217;agriculture. Cependant, la c\u00f4te de Ghar El Melh fait face \u00e0 une s\u00e9rie de pressions li\u00e9es au d\u00e9veloppement, principalement en raison de la vuln\u00e9rabilit\u00e9 climatique et des impacts des changements climatiques. La sant\u00e9 \u00e9cologique de la lagune et les activit\u00e9s de p\u00eache connexes sont menac\u00e9es par des modifications de l\u2019hydrodynamique de la lagune, des d\u00e9s\u00e9quilibres hydriques et la d\u00e9t\u00e9rioration de la qualit\u00e9 de l\u2019eau.<\/p>\n<p>L\u2019\u00e9tat d\u00e9j\u00e0 fragilis\u00e9 de la r\u00e9gion a \u00e9t\u00e9 aggrav\u00e9 en 2023, lorsque le pays a connu l\u2019une des pires s\u00e9cheresses de son histoire, obligeant les autorit\u00e9s \u00e0 mettre en place des mesures strictes, notamment des coupures prolong\u00e9es de l\u2019approvisionnement en eau domestique, ce qui a eu un impact significatif sur la production agricole.<\/p>\n<p><b>Application des technologies innovantes pour soutenir la communaut\u00e9 locale et prot\u00e9ger l&#8217;\u00e9cosyst\u00e8me vuln\u00e9rable.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Le projet est bas\u00e9 sur une approche holistique, multidimensionnelle, innovante, communautaire, sensible au genre et ax\u00e9e sur le partenariat pour une agriculture de conservation c\u00f4ti\u00e8re en utilisant une approche du Nexus des WEFE. Il s&#8217;appuie sur les r\u00e9sultats du projet GEMWET, mis en \u0153uvre par GWP-Med et plusieurs partenaires dans la r\u00e9gion de Ghar El Melh, avec des r\u00e9sultats remarquables pour la communaut\u00e9 agricole et la production agricole. Dans le cadre du projet actuel, cinq fermes seront s\u00e9lectionn\u00e9es pour b\u00e9n\u00e9ficier d&#8217;un syst\u00e8me TIC (technologies de l&#8217;information et de la communication) qui permettra aux agriculteurs de recevoir des d\u00e9cisions pr\u00e9cises, bas\u00e9es sur des donn\u00e9es, concernant le moment et la quantit\u00e9 d&#8217;eau \u00e0 appliquer \u00e0 leurs cultures. L&#8217;\u00e9nergie renouvelable sera utilis\u00e9e pour le pompage de l&#8217;eau afin d&#8217;optimiser l&#8217;utilisation de l&#8217;\u00e9nergie, de produire des aliments de mani\u00e8re durable et d&#8217;avoir un impact positif sur l&#8217;interface des quatre secteurs Nexus, tout en renfor\u00e7ant la r\u00e9silience des communaut\u00e9s et des \u00e9cosyst\u00e8mes.<\/p>\n<p>Parall\u00e8lement, un \u00e9quipement sp\u00e9cialement con\u00e7u surveillera l&#8217;hydrologie de la zone humide afin d&#8217;\u00e9valuer l&#8217;impact des pratiques d&#8217;irrigation sur les zones humides c\u00f4ti\u00e8res.<\/p>\n<p>L&#8217;adoption de mesures d&#8217;irrigation intelligentes par la communaut\u00e9 locale profitera consid\u00e9rablement au bien-\u00eatre et \u00e0 l&#8217;\u00e9conomie de la soci\u00e9t\u00e9 locale et prot\u00e9gera les tr\u00e9sors \u00e9cologiques et culturels de la r\u00e9gion. Au niveau national, le projet vise \u00e0 initier un dialogue politique pour \u00e9laborer un plan d\u2019action permettant de g\u00e9n\u00e9raliser de telles interventions, tout en identifiant des options de financement et des leviers incitatifs pour permettre aux agriculteurs d\u2019utiliser ces technologies dans le but de cr\u00e9er un m\u00e9canisme autonome facilitant l\u2019adoption de cette approche dans tout le pays.<\/p>\n<p>En d\u00e9veloppant et en reproduisant les efforts du projet dans d&#8217;autres r\u00e9gions de la Tunisie et au-del\u00e0, le projet contribuera aux efforts du pays vers la r\u00e9alisation des objectifs de d\u00e9veloppement durable. La mise en \u0153uvre de l&#8217;approche Nexus WEFE par le biais de la technologie marque une \u00e9tape audacieuse vers la r\u00e9silience climatique et le d\u00e9veloppement durable garantissant le bien-\u00eatre humain, l&#8217;int\u00e9grit\u00e9 \u00e9cologique, l&#8217;\u00e9galit\u00e9 de genre et la justice sociale.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GWP-Med, the Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade of Malta and the GEF UNEP\/MAP MedProgramme have joined forces to protect the Ghar El Melh lagoon, one of Tunisia&#8217;s most precious wetlands, improve climate resilience, advance sustainable development and ensure human well-being.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6056,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[66,4],"tags":[25],"class_list":["post-3255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archive","category-news","tag-mediterranean"],"acf":[],"spectra_custom_meta":{"_sidebar_content":["field_69d4d421acab1"],"sidebar_content":[""],"_old_url":["field_69d4d472acab2"],"old_url":["https:\/\/www.gwp.org\/en\/GWP-Mediterranean\/WE-ACT\/News-List-Page\/2024\/protecting-the-ghar-el-melh\/"],"_last_date":["field_69d4d498acab3"],"last_date":["2\/2\/2024"],"_event_start":["field_69d4d4c4acab4"],"event_start":[""],"_event_end":["field_69d4d4dcacab5"],"event_end":[""],"_scrape_id":["field_69d4d4ebacab6"],"scrape_id":["01-GWP-English"],"_wp_page_template":["default"],"_thumbnail_id":["6056"],"_edit_last":["1"],"_uag_page_assets":["a:9:{s:3:\"css\";s:0:\"\";s:2:\"js\";s:0:\"\";s:18:\"current_block_list\";a:14:{i:0;s:13:\"core\/freeform\";i:1;s:11:\"core\/search\";i:2;s:10:\"core\/group\";i:3;s:12:\"core\/heading\";i:4;s:20:\"core\/latest-comments\";i:5;s:9:\"core\/list\";i:6;s:14:\"core\/list-item\";i:7;s:19:\"rank-math\/toc-block\";i:8;s:14:\"core\/accordion\";i:9;s:19:\"core\/accordion-item\";i:10;s:22:\"core\/accordion-heading\";i:11;s:20:\"core\/accordion-panel\";i:12;s:14:\"core\/paragraph\";i:13;s:10:\"core\/image\";}s:8:\"uag_flag\";b:0;s:11:\"uag_version\";s:10:\"1779116804\";s:6:\"gfonts\";a:0:{}s:10:\"gfonts_url\";s:0:\"\";s:12:\"gfonts_files\";a:0:{}s:14:\"uag_faq_layout\";b:0;}"]},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/04\/ghar-el-melh2.png",1072,506,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/04\/ghar-el-melh2-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/04\/ghar-el-melh2-300x142.png",300,142,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/04\/ghar-el-melh2-768x363.png",768,363,true],"large":["https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/04\/ghar-el-melh2-1024x483.png",1024,483,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/04\/ghar-el-melh2.png",1072,506,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/04\/ghar-el-melh2.png",1072,506,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"satsiriwinberg@gmail.com","author_link":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/author\/satsiriwinberggmail-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"GWP-Med, the Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade of Malta and the GEF UNEP\/MAP MedProgramme have joined forces to protect the Ghar El Melh lagoon, one of Tunisia's most precious wetlands, improve climate resilience, advance sustainable development and ensure human well-being.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3255"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3255\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5640,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3255\/revisions\/5640"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/mediterranean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}